Is Free will an Illusion?

I was watching a movie, and this question was asked in class, and since then it has been on my mind.

Where do you stand on this argument, is free will indeed only an illusion? I will leave this article as a prompt if you wish to challenge yourself and your perspective of the world.

For this article, I'll be supporting the motion that Free will is just an illusion, a lie we tell ourselves just to justify a means to an end.

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What is Free will?

According to Cambridge Dictionary

the ability to decide what to do independently of any outside influences.

As humans, we pride ourselves on being the only living creature with Free will but is that a fact or purely an illusion.

Ask yourself, is there truly a decision you have ever made that is not influenced by any external force? No matter how I look at it, there just isn't any.

Let's take some examples:

We go to school to learn, why? Because society says we should if we wish for a better future.

We wear clothes, why? Because society says it's wrong to walk through the streets naked

Even saying the truth or lying is defined by what society deems to be right or wrong. Our very basis or instinct to survive, a characteristic we share with wild animals in the jungle is not guided by free will either.

The real question we should be asking is "Why do we choose to believe in free will?"

To this I think I have an answer, it could just be human nature, the will to always feel like you are in control, the reason why a lot of bodies have been buried today, the sole cause of Wars that has ravaged our history.

I once stumbled upon an article, I can't remember the source right now because it's been a while but it goes thus "God gave men free will to do as they please, to do what's right or what's wrong, and for every decision they make, they should be able to bear the consequences of their actions.

Then I ask myself, and I implore you to do the same, who determines what's right or wrong, better yet, who "influences" what is considered to be right or wrong. Whether the reason is known or not, it doesn't change the fact that we have no free will.

Still not convinced? Alright then,

I was traveling the other day, from my window, I saw a variety of people going about their daily lives, little kids right on major roads trying to sell off their goods to probably get something to eat for the day, businessmen, despite the sun rushing trying to make it to an appointment despite the heavy traffic on the road. Some people just sitting on any point they could find, perhaps just thinking.

I tried to put myself in their shows trying to imagine just what a day in their lives would feel like, what challenges they must be going through, what would make things better for them, even the wealthy often have problems too. If they had the free will to be where they want or get what they wish to achieve, don't you think they would?

Since the beginning of the day, what decision have you made for yourself that has not been in any way influenced by a force either within your control or not? Waking up perhaps, definitely not by your will alone, eating? Your body demanded that from you, even reading this article, the title probably caught your attention.

This is merely my opinion on the matter, if your thoughts differ, please, by all means, share in the comments or simply write an article to prove your point, I would really love to read your article on the matter.

It's been a while since I wrote an article on such matters but I had fun doing it, I hope you did too, thanks for your visits.

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